Cruelty of Fate
by Tyrammafar
Summary: TEST... Eragon and his human friend Saphira are on the run, until a strange accident causes Saphira to be changed for life. An alternate reality in Eragon. More info inside.
1. Change

**Not a real story, just a test with personalities that I thought you people might want to see. In this test, it is an alternate reality of Alagaesia, and Eragon is wanted by the king for being Morzan's son, though he doesn't know it. Saphira is his human fiancé, who he has known for many years. They are being chased by the Ra'zac, and a few random things will happen to set up my experiment. **

**In this, Saphira the human, who knows nothing about dragons except for stories, will find herself in her dragon form that you all know, but unable to use it like she should. This is also a relationship test between Eragon and his changed Saphira. It will not be a very good plot, but all personality and relationship parts should be great.**

**Let's get to experimenting!**

Eragon ran with Saphira just behind him, his tattered clothes flapping in the wind. Saphira grabbed on to his shoulder, looking back to see the two hooded figures just behind. Eragon gave a shout to stop, seeing the ledge before him that dropped into swirling water. Saphira couldn't stop, and with a wild cry she fell from the edge, vanishing in the torrent. Eragon saw the Ra'zac vanish in smoke, and he ran around the area to finds a way down to the water.

"Saphira!" He yelled, but saw nothing. A stream, quite deep, ran away from the swirling torrent, and he followed a dark shape in the water. "Saphira!" The shape vanished, and he tried stepping into the water only to be burned. "SAPHIRA!" He dropped to his knees, looking around for his love, but there was no human alive that could escape the swirling water. "SAPHIRA! NO!"

-------------

-------------

-------------

-------------

-------------

-------------

-------------

-------------

Eragon trudged by the fast-moving stream, his eye blurred by tears. Saphira was lost to the waters, and he could do nothing to help her. He slammed his fist into a tree, and heard his finger break. He cried out in anguish, both in pain and loss. A loud growl caught his attention and he reacted by ducking into the trees. He followed the sounds of labored breathing to see the impossible.

A sapphire-blue dragon was lying half out of the water, head on the grass and eyes closed. It was beyond exhaustion, breathing heavily. It was a dragon for sure, but it needed help badly, and Eragon knew that he had to help it, carnivore or not. It _was_ a dragon. Eragon ran to its side, looking about for some way to pull it out of the water. He gave up and grabbed its horns, pulling.

The dragon sensed his efforts, and tried to push itself up on the bank, and together they managed to get it out of the water and onto the grass. It had its mouth half-open, displaying rows of razor-sharp teeth. An incoherent growl came from its throat, but Eragon just pat it on the head, not knowing what else to do. Its scales were hot to the point of being slightly painful, but he did not pull away. It opened its blue eyes and looked at his blindly, seeming to not even be truly conscious. Its wings were spread limply on the grass, and its tail was lying in the water. It closed its eyes, now seeming to be asleep.

Eragon waited by its side, not know what else to do, and rubbed the scales on its neck. After what seemed like two hours it finally opened its eyes and looked at him, growling. Eragon smiled slightly as it saw the smile in its eyes, and it growled again. Its eyes widened and it growled louder. Now it seemed afraid, opening its mouth, but all that came out was a distorted snarl. Despite this Eragon stay by its side, rubbing its neck to try and calm it. It moved its head closer to him, looking up in fear and desperation, growling slightly.

"What is it?" Eragon asked the dragon. It growled louder. "If you can talk, I can't understand you." It frowned, licking its teeth. "I helped you out of the water, remember?" Eragon sighed. "My name is Eragon." The dragon frowned and narrowed its eyes, lifting its head. It realized it had done this and looked back at its body, jumping up and roaring. "Wait, stop!" Eragon yelled. It lay on the ground, looking at itself and breathing heavily. "Are you alright? Is there something wrong with your body?" It nodded, putting its nose to his face.

It looked around, trying to find something, and eventually spotted the sand by the stream. It crawled to it, using its claw to write in it. It was _writing, _so it was intelligent! Eragon read the single word. _Saphira. _"What about her? Have you seen her?" The dragon pointed to the word and then to itself, looking at him intensely. Eragon realized what it meant. "No…no, it can't be possible!" The dragon snorted, looking back at its body and gesturing to itself. "Saphira, is it really you?" The dragon nodded and stood, nuzzling him. "How could this happen?" Saphira looked at the stream, growling. "The stream must have some kind of…magic…in it, and it turned you into a dragon."

Eragon put his hand on Saphira's neck. "We're going to find a way to get you back to normal, alright?" Saphira rolled her eyes. "We have to find some way for us to communicate…but I'll try and keep it to yes or no for now. Just a bad game of charades." Saphira growled and jabbed him, but them whined and licked him on the cheek. She drew back and her eyes widened as she realized she had just _licked _him. "Saphira, we have to get away from here before the strangers come back to look for us.

Saphira took off with Eragon just behind and she soon was far ahead. She stopped and waited for him, growling and smiling. She picked him up very carefully in her teeth, and set him in a gap between her shoulders. "What?" Eragon smiled as he realized he was sitting astride a _dragon_. "Does this make me a dragon rider?" Saphira growled and nodded slightly, not very sure herself. "Well, I guess we better go, but your…wings…are dragging on the ground. Saphira looked back at them, eyes wide. With visible effort she tensed the muscles and tucked her wings in to her sides. "Wow…my fiancé is a dragon…what would Garrow say?" Saphira snapped her jaws.

Eragon held on to the spikes in front of him tightly, still bothered by the fact that the spikes were not part of any dragon, but his soon-to-be-wife turned into a dragon. That she was a different species and yet the exact same person underneath was incredible. Saphira ducked between the trees, trying to put distance between themselves and the stream. Eragon tapped her scales so she would listen.

"Saphira, do you know of a way we can talk?" She shook her head and stopped running, not even breathing any faster. She had sprinted quite a way, and didn't seemed tired in the least. "We have to find a way that we can speak to each other." She nodded and lay down on the sparse grass, looking about. "Saphira…are you okay with being a dragon?" Saphira thought for a moment hen looked at him and nodded slowly. "Your fine with this?" Nod. "Saphira…if we can't find a way to change you back…we'll go back to that stream and change me as well…so we can still be together." Saphira reached back and rubbed him on the chest with her snout, growling softly. "I love you, too." Saphira's eyes widened. "That's exactly what you were thinking?" She nodded and smiled. "Almost like I can read your thoughts."

Saphira turned to look right at him, narrowing her eyes. Eragon raised an eyebrow, wondering what she was doing, when without warning he heard a voice in his head. _Can you hear me? _

"Saphira!" Eragon yelled. "You spoke with your mind!"

_You gave me the idea to try…I guess dragons speak with their mind normally. _Saphira nuzzled him. _Eragon…I feel so…natural…in this body._

"You do?"

_I feel like this is what I was meant to be, but that is ridiculous. _Saphira cocked her head. _I need to ask; how do I look? I can't tell because everything looks weird with these eyes._

"You look beautiful as ever, even as a dragon." Saphira chuckled and it came out as a snarl. "You're a dragon…"

_Yes, a dragon. And I suppose since you are on my back you are a dragon rider. _She said mentally. _It seems we have been dropped right into one of Brom's stories. _She jerked. _Brom! He can tell us what to do, if no one else. No one knows more about dragons and magic than Brom._

"Are you sure we can risk going back to Carvahall? When the king himself is looking for us?" Saphira looked at the ground.

_You're right, we can't go there…but maybe Brom can come to us!_

"What?"

_I found out how to speak like this; I sort of…reach out…with my mind, and then I can speak to you. It should work with Brom as well, and if we can get near enough that I can touch him, I can lead him to us. Or even just ask him mentally._

"I'm all for it, Saphira." Eragon said, rubbing her scales. She shivered. "What?"

_Now I know why a dog likes to be scratched behind the ears. _She stood up and looked to the sun, and then turned north. _Well, I guess we go… _Saphira took off at a trot, moving between the trees with ease. _Eragon, I…_like_…being a dragon._

"How so?"

_Everything about it…I feel warm on the inside, and I feel invincible! _She swung her tail awkwardly and hit a tree. _This body feels so…natural…it's a little frightening._

"But you can't stay that way."

_I know, we have to get me back to being my old human self…_


	2. Little Differences

**This seems to almost be turning into a real story…hmm. A warning, this chapter is a little…mature. Yeah, let's go with that. As always, it's an ExS story/test.**

Eragon yawned and sat up on Saphira's now scaly back, tapping her on the shoulder to signal he was up. _Eragon, I was thinking…and I'm going to the worst case scenario, what if I can't be turned back, and you can't become a dragon yourself? Would you still want to be with me?_

"Yes." Eragon Answered instantly. "I don't care hat you are, you're still my Saphira." She turned her head to look back at him, a lopsided grin on her face.

_But wouldn't that make it hard to…you know. _Eragon's eyes widened. _You know…I don't know if this body is a male or female dragon. _She looked herself over. _There's no way to tell, really._

"I could check, you know." Eragon suggested with a smile. Saphira narrowed her eyes.

_You know, since this isn't really my body, and I need to know, I'll let you. _

"You _what?!_" Eragon asked in surprise, jumping from her back as she stopped walking.

_I'm going to let you check to see if I'm male or female, as I can't see for myself. _Eragon just stared at her wide eyed. _Eragon, stop being a baby and get under me. _Saphira watched as he hesitated and finally ducked underneath her bulk. Eragon looked over her scales, but there was nothing. No markings, no ridges, it was just flat identical scales.

"I can't tell, it all looks the same." Eragon said. Saphira sighed. "From the looks of things, you may not be either."

_So what, I'm an _it

"I don't know…" Eragon ducked out from under her, sighing. "I'll just say you're a she, since that is what you were before."

_If you called me a he I would have crushed you. _Saphira frowned. _You know…it just now dawned on me that I'm a dragon!_

"Where have you been?" Eragon asked sarcastically, crossing his arms.

_Sorry, I just got the whole idea now…this is beyond incredible, Eragon._

"I know, but can we hurry and ask Brom what to do?"

_Alright, hop on… _Eragon jumped to her back and looked down as his legs pained him.

"Saphira, your scales are rubbing my legs raw." He said with a grimace.

_Then keep them from moving while I walk. _Saphira said with a snort. She jerked as black smoke billowed from her nostrils. _That was…interesting… _She padded along silently for a time, occasionally looking back at him over her shoulder.

"Saphira, there's something about your face…"

_What? It's a dragon's face, Eragon…_

"Yes, but I can see some of your human features in it…there is a resemblance." Saphira smiled slightly and fluttered her eyelids at him. "Saphira, don't do that. I've always seen you as being a little…wild." She stopped dead in her tacks and turned completely around to look at him.

_What do you mean?_

"I mean…that…you're just not very much like any woman I've met, you're far…fiercer…than anyone else." Saphira chuckled.

_Maybe that is why being a dragon suits me. _Saphira turned around. _I can see the smoke from the village…_She ran into a patch of trees, Eragon jumping from her back and running off.

"Be right back!" He called. Saphira snorted.

Saphira

Saphira closed her eyes and reached out with her mind, going past the people she saw and finding Brom among the buildings of the village. _Brom? _She sensed fear from him, and, for a split second, excitement.

_Gods…it can't be true…Saphira?!_

_Hello, old man._

_Saphira…I thought you were gone…_

_For a few days, maybe. Since when did you care if I left? _Saphira asked.

_I always cared, Saphira, you know that. _Brom said with a little amusement.

_I'm very sure, with your locking yourself away at all hours of the day, never seeing the light of the sun…_

_Saphira, where have you been? I thought you were dead! _Brom asked frantically.

_South, I don't know exactly where, but I believe it was the river. Some people would wish I were dead… _Saphira chuckled at the thought of Sloan.

_I wouldn't…where are you?_

_In the forest outside of the village, to the south. _Saphira responded.

_I'm on my way. _Saphira opened her eyes, looking about, but Eragon was nowhere to be seen. A few minutes later and Brom came through the trees, looking up at her with wide eyes…filled with tears? Saphira snorted.

_Since when did you get emotional?_

"Since I thought you died…" Brom said softly. "You look just like you did when I lost you."

_I…wait, say what?!_

"You never seem to get any older, do you?"

_I would take that as a compliment, but could you explain why I look the same? _Saphira asked, putting her nose right up to his. _And why aren't you surprised to see me like this?_

"I _am_ surprised!" Brom said loudly. "And it's just that; you look the same as you did a hundred years ago!" Saphira drew back with surprise.

_Are you alright? Have you been out in the sun too long?_

"The sun?"

_Maybe you have me confused with another Saphira…and how were you around a hundred years ago? _

"I…Saphira?" Brom's eyes widened. "Saphira from Carvahall?!"

_Who else do you think? _Saphira said sarcastically. _Now spill it; who is this other Saphira, the dragon one that looks like this?_ Brom drew back hastily, eyes wide.

"I thought you were…another Saphira…"

_I figured that much out…now can you explain what you mean by this other Saphira, or at the least tell me how to get back to being human?_ Brom just stood very still, his eyes gleaming with something Saphira couldn't identify. _Brom? Brom, are you still with me?_ Brom snapped out of it and instantly became the crotchety old man she always knew.

"I'm right here, as you can plainly see, woman. Now, how did this happen, and spare no details."

_Eragon and I were running from those two strangers…_


End file.
